A culinary online center dedicated to promoting the importance and the joy of American home cooking with an emphasis on local products and talent, celebrating the unique spirit and energy of the new food world ethos, especially in Vermont.

Feeding nine billion people in a truly sustainable way will be one of the greatest challenges our civilization has had to confront. It will require the imagination, determination and hard work of countless people from all over the world. There is no time to lose.âJonathan A. Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment, U of MN

The surest way to capture the flavors, colors, and textures of a culture is by using authentic products.âLidia Bastianich, from Lidiaâs Italian-American Kitchen

The most important habit you can develop is to taste as you are preparing something. Take a sample and taste it critically at different stages of the cooking, then correct the seasoningsâŠâMarion Cunningham, from Learning to Cook

Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you donât.âMichael Pollan

Triple Dipple Pickles

“I love Pickles

Triple Dipple Pickles

I love Pickles

Pickles Rock!”

-Written by Victoria, a former middle school student of my dad

2017 has been a year of firsts for me: my first year in Vermont, my first wedding anniversary, and my first year opening a business with my husband.Â Other firsts are a little less monumental, but noteworthy nonetheless: I planted my first vegetable garden, pickled my first vegetable, and did home-canning for the first time!

Years ago, at an Asian supermarket, my boyfriend at the time was in awe of their extensive selection of pickled foods: pickled eggs, pickled peppers, pickled green beans.Â He then picked up a package of “pickled cucumbers” with excitement, as if this were revolutionary and exotic pickled vegetable.Â He somehow, and maybe this is more common than I realize, couldn’t connect the “pickle” he knew with the pickled cucumber he was admiring at the market.Â I don’t know the history of the conventional pickle we all know and love today, but somehow “pickle” has become a noun, indicative solely of the pickled cucumber; similar to the way “KleenexÂź” has ubiquitously come to mean tissue, regardless of the brand.

With a personal appetite for all things vinegar, I was excited to preserve the last of my crop via pickling and canning.Â While I experienced modest success with my first garden, my beets and carrots were not the hotbed of production I hoped they would be.Â They were included in a couple meals, but in the end, I had pounds of tubers just chillin’ (literally, as winter is now upon us…) in the garden.

I will not regale you with my step by step process, as these articles have that pretty well covered if you’re interested.Â Without a canner, I used my pressure cooker with my jars sitting on the steaming rack.Â My jars sealed, so I consider my project a success!Â But it truth, I have not yet tasted my pickles…I want them to have a couple months to “marinate” on the shelf.Â Stay tuned for when I open them for the real culinary test!

2017 has been a year of firsts for me: my first year in Vermont, my first wedding anniversary, and my first year opening a business with my husband.Â Other firsts are a little less monumental, but noteworthy nonetheless: I planted my first vegetable garden, pickled my first vegetable, and did home-canning for the first time!
Years ago, at an Asian supermarket, my boyfriend at the time was in awe of their extensive selection of pickled foods: pickled eggs, pickled peppers, pickled green beans.Â He then picked up a package of "pickled cucumbers" with excitement, as if this were revolutionary and exotic pickled vegetable.Â He somehow, and maybe this is more common than I realize, couldn't connect the "pickle" he knew with the pickled cucumber he was admiring at the market.Â I don't know the history of the conventional pickle we all know and love today, but somehow "pickle" has become a noun, indicative solely of the pickled cucumber; similar to the way "KleenexÂź" has ubiquitously come to mean tissue, regardless of the brand.
With a personal appetite for all things vinegar, I was excited to preserve the last of my crop via pickling and canning.Â While I experienced modest success with my first garden, my beets and carrots were not the hotbed of production I hoped they would be.Â They were included in a couple meals, but in the end, I had pounds of tubers just chillin' (literally, as winter is now upon us...) in the garden.
I waited for a day above freezing to harvest the last of my crop.Â Relying heavily on the internet for guidance, the following articles were extremely helpful: Water Bath Canning, Paleo Pickled Beets, Pickled Dilly Carrots, and How to Quick Pickle Any Vegetable.Â If you want a humorous and interesting read, check out the pickled beet recipe...its very, should I say, unexpected.
I will not regale you with my step by step process, as these articles have that pretty well covered if you're interested.Â Without a canner, I used my pressure cooker with my jars sitting on the steaming rack.Â My jars sealed, so I consider my project a success!Â But it truth, I have not yet tasted my pickles...I want them to have a couple months to "marinate" on the shelf.Â Stay tuned for when I open them for the real culinary test!

2017 has been a year of firsts for me: my first year in Vermont, my first wedding anniversary, and my first year opening a business with my husband.Â Other firsts are a little less monumental, but noteworthy nonetheless: I planted my first vegetable garden, pickled my first vegetable, and did home-canning for the first time!
Years ago, at an Asian supermarket, my boyfriend at the time was in awe of their extensive selection of pickled foods: pickled eggs, pickled peppers, pickled green beans.Â He then picked up a package of "pickled cucumbers" with excitement, as if this were revolutionary and exotic pickled vegetable.Â He somehow, and maybe this is more common than I realize, couldn't connect the "pickle" he knew with the pickled cucumber he was admiring at the market.Â I don't know the history of the conventional pickle we all know and love today, but somehow "pickle" has become a noun, indicative solely of the pickled cucumber; similar to the way "KleenexÂź" has ubiquitously come to mean tissue, regardless of the brand.
With a personal appetite for all things vinegar, I was excited to preserve the last of my crop via pickling and canning.Â While I experienced modest success with my first garden, my beets and carrots were not the hotbed of production I hoped they would be.Â They were included in a couple meals, but in the end, I had pounds of tubers just chillin' (literally, as winter is now upon us...) in the garden.
I waited for a day above freezing to harvest the last of my crop.Â Relying heavily on the internet for guidance, the following articles were extremely helpful: Water Bath Canning, Paleo Pickled Beets, Pickled Dilly Carrots, and How to Quick Pickle Any Vegetable.Â If you want a humorous and interesting read, check out the pickled beet recipe...its very, should I say, unexpected.
I will not regale you with my step by step process, as these articles have that pretty well covered if you're interested.Â Without a canner, I used my pressure cooker with my jars sitting on the steaming rack.Â My jars sealed, so I consider my project a success!Â But it truth, I have not yet tasted my pickles...I want them to have a couple months to "marinate" on the shelf.Â Stay tuned for when I open them for the real culinary test!

2017 has been a year of firsts for me: my first year in Vermont, my first wedding anniversary, and my first year opening a business with my husband.Â Other firsts are a little less monumental, but noteworthy nonetheless: I planted my first vegetable garden, pickled my first vegetable, and did home-canning for the first time!
Years ago, at an Asian supermarket, my boyfriend at the time was in awe of their extensive selection of pickled foods: pickled eggs, pickled peppers, pickled green beans.Â He then picked up a package of "pickled cucumbers" with excitement, as if this were revolutionary and exotic pickled vegetable.Â He somehow, and maybe this is more common than I realize, couldn't connect the "pickle" he knew with the pickled cucumber he was admiring at the market.Â I don't know the history of the conventional pickle we all know and love today, but somehow "pickle" has become a noun, indicative solely of the pickled cucumber; similar to the way "KleenexÂź" has ubiquitously come to mean tissue, regardless of the brand.
With a personal appetite for all things vinegar, I was excited to preserve the last of my crop via pickling and canning.Â While I experienced modest success with my first garden, my beets and carrots were not the hotbed of production I hoped they would be.Â They were included in a couple meals, but in the end, I had pounds of tubers just chillin' (literally, as winter is now upon us...) in the garden.
I waited for a day above freezing to harvest the last of my crop.Â Relying heavily on the internet for guidance, the following articles were extremely helpful: Water Bath Canning, Paleo Pickled Beets, Pickled Dilly Carrots, and How to Quick Pickle Any Vegetable.Â If you want a humorous and interesting read, check out the pickled beet recipe...its very, should I say, unexpected.
I will not regale you with my step by step process, as these articles have that pretty well covered if you're interested.Â Without a canner, I used my pressure cooker with my jars sitting on the steaming rack.Â My jars sealed, so I consider my project a success!Â But it truth, I have not yet tasted my pickles...I want them to have a couple months to "marinate" on the shelf.Â Stay tuned for when I open them for the real culinary test!